Mail-bag lock



(No Model.)

G. O. HOLDEN.-

MAIL BAG LOOK.

No. 587,526. Patented Aug. 3,1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE C. HOLDEN, OF WAYNE, PENNSYLVANIA.

MAIL-BAG LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 587,526, dated August 3, 1897.

A li ti fi1 d October 13, 1 896. Serial No. 608,736. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE O. HOLDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wayne, in the county of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Looks for Canvas Tie-Sacks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,'such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is a locking contrivance for canvas tie-sacks especially adapted for use in connection with mail-bags, although the device is equally as well adapted for service in fastening the cords on sacks or inclosures for safe transportation of merchandise generally.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and cheap contrivance for securely fastening the draw-cord of tie-sacks in a manner to prevent the cord from being loosened and the sack or inclosure opened except topersons authorized to do so and provided with a proper key for that purpose.

My invention is distinguished from the ordinary fasteners for tie-sacks in which the cord is simply clamped or gripped by a detent, by reason of the fact that the holding or gripping device and contrivance for the cord is held under restraint and controlled by a positively-actuated locking-bolt which can only be released by the operation of the proper key provided for that purpose, and it will therefore be understood that I do not depend upon the simple gripping engagement of the detent with the tie-cord; but, on the contrary, while the gripping of the tie-cord by a peculiar arrangement of holding-dogs is one feature of my invention the gist of'the improvement relies on the contrivance by which the closure for the tie-cord is positively locked by a key-actuated bolt or its equivalent.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing object my invention consists of a fastener comprising two foldable members hinged orj oined together to open and close, one member provided with a channel or way for the passage of the cord, a keeper, and a dog and the other member carrying a locking-bolt and a dog to coact with the dog upon the first named member, so as to grip thetie-cord securely between the parts when they are closed and locked; and the invention further consists in the combination of devices and con struction and arran gement of parts,which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand my invenvention, I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of the same in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved tie-cord fastener. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the members separated to release the cord. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central sectional view through the fastener, showing the position of the gripping-dogs on the cord.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all figures of the drawings, referring to which A designates the fastener in its entirety, and B is the tie-cord which is to be gripped by the fastener A to prevent the cord from being loosened and the bag, sack, or other inclosure from opening.

It will be understood that my invention is not restricted in its application to the drawstrings of mail-bag sacks, although it is well adapted for that purpose, and thakthe fastener may be used generally in the arts where it is desirable to employ a positively-locked fastening contrivance for tie-cords.

The fastener A consists of two members C D, joined together to permitthem to be opened in order to release the tie-cord or to be closed together and locked so as to grip the tie-cord and prevent the fastener from opening except by first unlocking the contrivance. In the embodiment of the fastener shown by the accompanying drawings I have made the member 0 in the form of a base or plate, while the member D is represented as a box-like closure, which is adapted to fold upon the cord, so as to inclose the same between the base 0 and the closure D. The shape or form of the parts, however, is not material and may be varied by a skilled mechanic.

The base 0 is analogous to a plate with a longitudinal guideway c thereon for the passage of the tie-cord, and said plate may be provided with a series of loopshaped keepers c o 0', which rise from the flanges forming the guideway c for the tie-cord. In this form of the base 0 the keeper 0 is made to serve as the keeper for the locking-bolt carried by the member D of the fastener, while the keeper 0 forms the support for the bolt or arbor cl that connects the member D to the base C. In the described embodiment of the base 0 it is similar to the label-holder and cord-fastener now in use on mail-sacks, and one of the purposes of my invention is to so construct the fastener that the well-known plate or base of the large members of common fasteners may be used in connection with my improvements; but I would have it understood that my invention is not restricted to the employment of the particular style of base shown, because I am aware that speciallyprepared bases with a single bolt-keeper, a lug for the attachment of the member D, and a cordguideway may be employed in the manufacture of new fasteners for the market, and that such is contemplated by my invention.

The member D is cast in the form of a boxlike closure, being a shell or casing proportioned to fit the keeper or lug c and to fold upon the base, so as to close down over the tie-cord. Said box-like member has lugs d at one end arranged to embrace the keeper or lug c, and through the lugs d and the keeper or lug 0 passes the bolt or arbor d, which is preferably swaged at its ends and pivotally joins the two members together securely at or near one end. This box-like member carries a locking mechanism E on the inside thereof and arranged so that the bolt or its equivalent will engage the keeper 0 when the members C D are closed. Any suitable form of locking mechanism may be employedas, for instance, I may use the type of look now employed in the mail-service known as the Eagle lock, or I may use the style of lock represented in the drawings as consisting of a slidable bolt e,housed within a casing e, which is fastened on the inside of the box-like member, which is provided with a keyhole to enable the key to have access to the locking-bolt; but the style of lock is not important, and it may be varied, as preferred, by the manufacturer.

To prevent access to the locking-bolt from either end of the fastener, I provide the boxlike member D with the abutments ff, arranged at or near the ends of said member and adapted to lie close down upon the cord or to the base (1, so that an instrument cannot be slipped through the fastener to reach and retract the locking-bolt.

In order to grip the tie-cord and hold it securely between the two members 0 D of the fastener, I provide the twoholding-dogsF F, which are fast with the members on the opposing faces thereof. The dog Fmaybeintegral with the base member 0, or it may be attached thereto in case the well-known type of cordclamp is employed; but I prefer to place the dog F on the bolt-casingc, which is attached to and within the box-like member D. The dogs F F are not placed in the same vertical plane in order-to press the cord B between themselves directly, but the dogs are placed a little to one side of each other in order to grip the cord with a Wedge-like action and thereby more securely fasten the cord.

The operation of my device may be described, briefly, asfollows: To release the cord, in order that the bag or other inclosure maybe opened, the key is inserted in the lock and turned to retract the bolt from the keeper 0, after which the member D is raised and the dogs thereby separated to release the cord, which can now be drawn throughthe base member 0 sufficiently to open the bag, 8220. To fasten thebag, the cord is drawn through the base member 0 until it lies adjacent to the closed mouth of the bag, and the member D is now closed down upon the base 0 and the cord 13 until the bolt 8 springs into engagement with the keeper, during which operation of closing the members the dogs F F are caused to press upon the cord B an thereby securely grip the same.

My device provides a very simple and secure fastening means, which may be easily and quickly operated, and which is cheap of manufacture and reliable and efficient in service.

The members 0 D of the fastener maybe hinged together in any approved manner to permit them to open nearly in alinement with each other or to arrest the opening of the member D at any desired angle to the member 0 sufficient to provide for easy access to the tie-cord, and other changes in the form i and proportion of parts and in the details of construction may be made which will suggest themselves to a skilled mechanic without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A fastener for tie-cords comprising two members joined together to open and close, and provided with means for gripping a cord, one member having a guideway for a cord, and a suitable locking contrivance to hold the two members in fixed positive relation to each other, as and for the purposes described.

2. A fastener for tie-cords comprising abase member provided with a cordway and aboltkeeper, a box-like member pivoted to said base member, a locking mechanism carried by said box-like member to engage with the bolt-keeper when the parts are closed, and coacting dogs arranged on the opposing faces of the base member and the pivoted member, as and for the purposes described.

3. A fastener for tie-cords comprising a base member having a gripping-dog, a pivoted member also provided with a grippingdog arranged in a position at one side of the first-named dog and adapted to Wedge a cord ing device, and suitable cord-gripping means, between the two dogs, and a locking contrivas and for the purposes described. IO anee to hold the two members in positive In testimony whereof I affix my signature fixed relation to each other, as and for the in presence of two Witnesses.

5 purposes described. G. O. HOLDEN.

at. The combination with a base'member \Vitnesses: having a eordway, of a foldable member piv- JAS. R. EDSON,

oted to said base member and carrying a lock- W. CLARENCE DUVALL. 

